See the Chilling Beauty of Winter on Mars

NASA images reveal frost, geysers and intricate frozen patterns on the Red Planet

Carlyn Kranking
Assistant Editor, Science and Innovation

January 4, 2023



Frost-capped sand dunes near Mars's north pole, captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter two days after the planet's winter solstice NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona


Late winter has arrived in Mars’s Northern Hemisphere, and NASA recently released images of the season captured by its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The frosty scenes are a foreign-yet-familiar display of beauty.

Like Earth, the Red Planet experiences snow and frost and is home to water ice. So, in a way, its winters look like ours. But that’s about where the resemblance stops.

In a Martian winter, the planet’s average temperature—already a frozen minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit—plunges to 190 below. In this bone-chilling weather, the Red Planet also hosts a second kind of ice made from carbon dioxide, known as dry ice.

Unlike our water frost at home, Mars’s carbon dioxide frost doesn’t melt. Instead, when temperatures warm, it converts directly from a solid to a gas in a shift called sublimation. In the process, fantastic formations are created on the ground, ranging from spider-like intertwining lines to scattered polka dots. Scientists have named these formations after some familiar items and patterns, from Dalmatian spots, to fried eggs, to Swiss cheese.



ground. Geysers of sun-warmed gas and dust are shown in blue in this enhanced-color image. NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona

The freezing of water ice and sublimation of dry ice create these patterns on Mars's ground. Geysers of sun-warmed gas and dust are shown in blue in this enhanced-color image. NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona

More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-the-chilling-beauty-of-winter-on-mars-180981380/